Before you stop your kid from from chatting with an “imaginary friend,” consider this.

Imagine how amazing it would be if your kids grew into beautiful, wise adults who always had an inner compass at their side. Imagine your child having this inner compass—knowing its way around and drawing from an endless amount of inspiration. For a kid growing up with an active sixth sense, inspiration comes from being connected to their higher selves and knowing they can always listen within and get the true answer from their own inner voice.

I was born with a strong “sixth sense.” I could see, feel, hear and listen to everything people say is not possible. This is something I’ve had the ability to do all my life and it’s always felt like the most natural thing in the world to me.

As a kid, I was often living in my own world while also, living in the other world that’s in our world. It integrated so naturally and was a part of me—so I never had a doubt that what I saw and heard was real. If anything, I didn’t know that others didn’t see the same things as me!

As kids, we only know our own truth. I didn’t know that my reality looked different than my mom’s reality. Until I was five years old, I had no idea.

When I was sent to my room to clean up, that’s when my spirit guides would come play games with me. I’d see them hide in drawers and cupboards—making the task of cleaning up into a fun thing for me, instead of something that felt boring and horrible. For Christmas one year, my mom even gave me two big packages wrapped in the local toy store’s wrapping paper. It ended up being no fun at all, they were red plastic boxes to put my toys in. I was not impressed with this gift.

One day, I was playing in my room and talking to my guides when my mom came in. She saw me talking and playing, but she could not see who I was talking to—and was so shocked. I’ll never forget when she said: Stop what you’re doing!

Many years later, I learned that my father’s older brother was put in a closed institution for mental health. He had a breakdown and was given electroshock therapy at only 15 years old. When he was 30, they realized he wasn’t even ill, he just had depression. And the reason he broke down was because he was being trained to take over his father’s lumber company—and being put through a rigorous training to make him “become a man,” working 15 hours per day and not getting enough sleep.

My mother didn’t even know why he was there. All she knew was that having someone in the mental institution was shameful—and there was so much fear around that in our family. When I saw her reaction to me talking and playing with my guides, I saw how scared she was. My mom was scared that I was “crazy” like my uncle. She told me to stop what I was doing—and I didn’t stop, but I did learn to never tell anybody anymore. I saw I was doing something very, very wrong. I upset my mother on a level I wouldn’t understand, and I didn’t know as a kid that what she was truly concerned about was my uncle.

I started having to control my sixth sense, this side of me. This made me into a control freak. Every sentence I spoke I had to scan and screen before I let it out, so I wouldn’t say something that others would be scared or confused about. I couldn’t let slip anything I saw or heard that was going on around me. It was like living in a minefield. I learned to totally control myself and hide my intuitive abilities.

Yet I was lucky and still had access to my sixth sense throughout my life. I knew I wasn’t crazy and I was lucky to always know that what I was seeing and hearing is real. It was not fantasy, I see what I see. In later years, the only people who knew about my gifts were my husband and dearest friend.

Many years later, when I was pregnant, I made the decision that I was going to encourage my children and not put any labels on them or make them suppress any part of who they are. And this is something I also really encourage myself to do now.

When I had a big event in my life that really stopped me in my tracks, I realized I was not being myself and I was not being authentic. So I made a change—and I decided to be open about my sixth sense moving forward, and even, integrated them into my work.

Now, I’m free to by myself and I won’t compromise myself anymore. I’m not hiding who I am anymore and I can be who I am. It freed me in a way that is unimaginable. For the first time, I could be with people, without controlling every thought and sentence. After I let go and decided to be myself, I realized that whoever had a problem with that would go away. And I didn’t care anymore because I just wanted to be myself. I realized how much fell off me, how much control and how much I was now able to fully live. And in fact, no one left my life. I still have the same friends who have loved me all along, with or without my sixth sense. If anything, I gained more friends that are similar to me!

Even though I went through this experience and was still trusting my intuition, there are so many people who weren’t allowed to be themselves as children. I took the freedom of being myself in private, but hiding this from others was such a big effort I constantly had to keep up.

When your parent reacts strongly, you know something is wrong. It crystallizes that something is wrong with you. And if your inner voice is telling you something, but you’re told by a parent that it’s not true or to do things differently, then you learn you cannot rely on who you are and your own inner compass. When your parents tell you no, you feel shameful that you have inner feelings that aren’t concurrent with what your parent’s feeling. When a parent makes you feel like what you think and what you do are wrong, then as a child, you believe there is something wrong with you. And you start to feel upset, sad, or depression—all because you’re not allowed to be who you are.

I’m so passionate about children being raised to embrace their sixth sense, especially after my own experience, because that sixth sense will be such a worthy thing as they grow through life. The biggest plus side is when you are in tune with your sixth sense as a child, you learn who to trust and who not to trust. And most importantly, you learn to trust yourself. When you make decisions that are life-changing, you can really listen to yourself.

Because when coming from your sixth sense, you know that the choice that’s right for you might be hard because of how other people react, but that it’s worth it because it will come out better for you. When you get practice making these decisions as a child, it becomes like second nature as an adult. It’s knowing that if you follow your heart, it still might be tough, but the end result will be the most positive. When you start to do this as an adult, without a history of listening to your inner voice, fear-based thinking can kick in. As adults, we get this nagging voice, voice of fear that pops up. Kids are not as fearful at that age, they don’t have as much to work through. As a child, there aren’t so many layers of conditioning and fears and it’s easier to tap into the sixth sense.

Start little by little

To tap into the sixth sense, we have to eliminate all the negative thoughts, blocks, belief systems and really create a blank canvas again so we can learn to re-trust.

Kids are not as cluttered up in that way. If they learn to get in touch with their sixth sense and trust themselves, it is allowing them to be who they are. One of the best ways to start teaching them how to do this is by giving them little steps—the responsibility to make a decision and to trust them that they will make their own decision based on their system. Just like learning to walk, they will learn little by little. When a child starts eating food, they don’t begin with a gourmet menu.

It’s similar to integrating the sixth sense. They will naturally integrate into their life because they come with that sense, everybody has it. With children, we can train that sense, just as we train the sense of taste. If we give them little issues and ideas and let them make their own choices, it gives them the first taste and they can see how it feels when they actually listen to themselves.

What it means to tap into your sixth sense

Everyone is unique. My story is different from my sister’s, even though we’re in the same family. We have different talents and experience our parents differently. She might be more like my mom, and I am maybe more like my father. We are different, even though we’ve had the same upbringing.

It’s the same with your child. Many parents fear children will make mistakes. They will, and so will you. That’s normal. It’s so important for parents to remember that your child is not you.

When your child taps into their sixth sense, it also means they are tapping into their uniqueness. As a parent, you must allow them to do that. With my son, he used to tell me he needed to play soccer before he did his homework. I gave him a chance to do that—to run around and let off steam. And I realized he knows himself. He was only five years old, but he knew exactly what he needed. I felt like he could really tap into himself. A part of this was because I’d always give him power to make decisions with smaller things—and he saw how much he can trust himself.

He’s now grown into a young man who knows how to feel into himself, and knows when something is okay or not okay. He has mastered that and it’s given him the ability to take on a leadership role in the workplace, even at a young age. People seek advice from him because he’s developed great analysis skills and has this wisdom about life, knowing what not to do and what to do.

Having a sixth sense means having your own unique power source, whenever you need it. You can go to that inner place and feel and hear into yourself. It’s always available, like an inner help center. @CarollyneCorner (Click to Tweet!)

This connection to your true self helps you to thrive in a meaningful way. It’s very different from training and learning endlessly to be the best at sports, in school, or on the job. Doing all that doesn’t mean you are happy. Following your sixth sense means you may not be the best, but you are the happiest in the field that you really have the place of knowledge. It will help you in leading that happy, balanced and truth-worthy life.

It’s also about tapping into and being in touch with your own truth. It may differ from your parents and grandparents—and that’s something we have to honor in a child.

Children might not be putting any effort into school might be because they haven’t been allowed to go their own unique way. There are certain things we just have to do—and it’s helpful to help those kids understand that this might not be something you want to do now, but it will get you where you want to go. This is much better motivation.

Kids who seem to have no motivation have often been stripped from their dreams and talents, while being pressured into a system that doesn’t serve them well. They will be able to tap into their sixth sense when they are being allowed to be their own true self, maybe or most definitely being different than their parents and environment.

Seeing how my son grew up and how his trust in himself gave him so much confidence and empowerment—this really shows me how important it is to take this step and to empower your child to be who they really are.

What to do and what not to do as a parent

If children are behaving in a certain way that irritates you or that you think is strange, try not to step in at first. If your child has an imaginary friend, realize that this may just be something you aren’t able to see and it may not be a fantasy.

If you can’t see past ancestors, it doesn’t mean that your children won’t be able to chat with them. This is so natural for them and as a parent, it’s good to be prepared that something like this could come out of a child’s mouth.

Try to respond and act as naturally as you can, avoiding looking too shocked. Of course, your child will always be able to know when you are shocked, so it’s better to address it than to cover it up. You can respond by saying something like: Tell me more, I’m a little shocked not because something is wrong, but I am surprised because I haven’t seen her in a long time. And it’s totally fine if you can see her and I can’t.

Don’t try to extract more information or to get anything out of it. It’s important not to dance around the subject too long or be too intense about it. It should be as natural as possible, as if your child is telling you about the sensation of ice cream. If your child is sensitive, you may want to talk about being able to protect themselves. You can even help with this by seeing your child as protected, and even envisioning a purple light around your child. Let your child know that if they have any experience that makes them uncomfortable, to come talk to you about it.

A little game for the road

To create a more open sixth sense reality for your kids, there’s a little game you can play with them whenever you are in the car together or waiting at bus stop or out shopping. Ask them if they can guess what people think, or what they can spot that no one else can spot. It’s a game of being open and receptive. If they look at someone, ask: What is that person thinking? They might come up with something or maybe nothing. There’s no right and wrong. You can also ask them to describe emotions and feelings. What color is happiness? What color is it when you are excited for the holidays? Do you see a picture or a video in your head? It’s all about training the mind to let thoughts and feelings come and flow in.

Carollyne Corner is an executive business consultant and spiritual advisor who helps individuals and multimillion dollar companies overcome blocks to success. Start now with her free guide: How to build the fulfilling life you deserve.

Image courtesy of Caroline Hernandez.